A Game To Win
by LittlexMissxVicious
Summary: **CURRENTLY BEING REPOSTED AS "THE BROKEN, THE BEATEN AND THE DAMNED"** "Life is a game and you are the one who decides whether you will be a piece or a player." - Estrella Oxley. (Finnick Odair/OC)
1. Chapter 1 - Catching Fire

"So," Estrella asked as she and her third client of the night lay in bed, her finger tracing circles on his chest. "What's your secret?"

"Hmm," he slurred, his drunken mind struggling to think of a secret. "I heard that President Snow gives poison to his allies, but drinks it too so he wouldn't look suspicious. Then he'd drink an antidote; but, the poison left sores in his mouth. And that's why he smells like blood and roses."

"Thanks for that," she whispered, not showing her shock, and pressed a kiss to his neck, leaving a bright red lipstick stain.

She stood, pulling on her clothes, before vacating the apartment and walking down the street, wiping her lips as she lulled over the information she was just told. 'Snow poisons his allies? I can't say I'm surprised, they've been dropping like flies for years now.'

"Home, Miss Oxley?" Her driver, Augustin, asked.

'Home?' she thought. 'District 10 is my home. Not this fucking place.' But didn't voice it, simply nodding to her driver, who quickly drove her back to her penthouse apartment.

* * *

She sighed in relief as she pressed her thumb to the identification lock. The door swung open and a fat cat made its way towards her. "Hello, Horatio," she muttered, picking him up with ease. Her cat was a gift from last year's Head Gamemaker, Seneca Crane; who, in a desperate attempt to woo her, bought her all sorts of expensive gifts, such as heavy diamond rings and bouquets upon bouquets of mutated roses – all of which were promptly returned aside from the Tabby cat in her arms. The one thing he did give her, apart from the cat, which she appreciated, was a vast knowledge of how the Capitol worked. It was a brilliant arrangement; she learnt more secrets about the higher-ups from him than she had from the countless men and women who she had been sold to. And, being as intelligent as she is, knew that Seneca's sentimental streak would get him killed in the end, so saw no problem in stringing him along with false hopes of marriage and her affections – she was correct, in letting the Girl on Fire and Bread Boy survive, he signed his own death wish, resulting in his death a mere month after the 74th Hunger Games had ended and Plutarch Heavensbee to be made the new Head Gamemaker.

Estrella, or Stella as she was known, had competed in Plutarch's first Hunger Games as a Gamemaker. Her Games, the 66th, are known for being the quickest, and bloodiest, in history – it is said that her Games are responsible for the first battle at the cornucopia being known as the 'bloodbath', because that's exactly what is was. The Capitol, of course, ate it all right up, and had adored her ever since. It's been eight years since she had brutalised twenty-two other tributes and their faces still haunted her. Estrella, like Annie Cresta, had watched her District partner get beheaded right in front of her – the two differences between them was that her District partner wasn't some random boy from her District; he was her brother, and Stella, like Annie, snapped, but instead of hiding away, she went on a murderous rampage and took down all of the other tributes with her knives, staining the ground red with blood. The games were over within ten minutes. She was fourteen.

"Another day, another lay," she muttered as she took in the bruising on her thighs, so used to it that she didn't even wince when Horatio jumped into her lap. She sat down on her sofa as the TV came to life, the seal of Panem above the message 'MANDATORY VIEWING'.

Her face involuntarily scrunched up as President Snow appeared on her screen and reached to turn it off but remembered that he was making the announcement for the Quarter Quell. Begrudgingly, she reclined and listened to the President of Panem speak. "Ladies and gentlemen, this is the 75th year of the Hunger Games. And it was written, in the charter of the Games, that every 25 years there would be a Quarter Quell, to keep fresh, for each new generation, the memory of those who died in uprising against the Capitol. Each Quarter Quell is distinguished by games of a special significance and now on this, the 75th Anniversary of the defeat of the rebellion, we celebrate the third Quarter Quell as a reminder that even the strongest cannot overcome the power of the Capitol on this, the third Quarter Quell games, the male and female tributes are to be reaped from the existing pool of victors in each district-"

With a loud scream, Stella threw the glass of whiskey she had been drinking at the TV, breaking it. "NO!" She fell to her knees. "I'm not going back in there." Horatio, despite not understanding why she was crying, curled up into her once more, allowing her to sob into his fur.

* * *

Three days later, she was back in District 10. "Welcome, welcome," the District's escort, Florence, said as cheerfully as she could, but no one could mistake the heartbroken crack her voice gave. "As we celebrate the 75th Anniversary, and third Quarter Quell, of the Hunger Games. As always, ladies first."

Estrella waited with baited breath as Florence stuck her hand into the bowl, which contained only two slips of paper; one with her name on it and the other with Livia Mare, the winner of the 53rd Hunger Games, on it. "The female tribute, from District 10, is… Estrella Oxley." Florence's voice cracked and she hiccupped loudly. Stella fell into character and plastered a smirk on her face, strutting into position winking seductively at the camera and kissing Florence on the cheek. "Wonderful," a tear streaked down her green skin. "Now, for the men. The male tribute from District 10 is… Tom Bullion."

The victor of the 22nd Hunger games stepped forward. Estrella let out a slight sigh of relief. 'At least it's someone who is about to kick the bucket,' she thought darkly as the man rolled forwards. Tom, despite being one of the nicest men she knew, wouldn't make it through this hunger games – he had just turned seventy and was in a wheelchair due to the fact that both of his legs were cut off in his games, he had a non-curable illness and was slowly dying.

"Very well," Florence breathed sadly. "The tributes from District 10… Estrella Oxley and Tom Bullion." The people of District 10 cried silently as their beloved victors stood in front of them.

Two peacekeepers came from behind her, pulling her towards the Justice Building. "Telly!" Her twelve year old sister cried, walking towards her, as did her parents. The peacekeepers stood in line, trying to restrain them.

"Jenny!" She called, shoving the peacekeepers hands away from her, only for them to return. "Get away from her!" She screamed, roughly pushing a peacekeeper over and punching the other in the jaw.

"STELLA!" Her father yelled as he was tackled by a peacekeeper.

"DADDY!" She shouted as the peacekeeper hit her with an electrical current. "MOM! I get to say goodbye."

"Change of plans," the peacekeeper she pushed hissed, yanking her towards the doors. "You're going straight to the train."

"I LOVE YOU!" She screamed to her family as the doors slid shut.

* * *

The train journey from District 10 to the Capitol took three, sometimes four, hours, as she gazed out of the window in her room a quiet whimper left her mouth as she realised that this could be the last time she ever saw her District, her family and her friends. Her head fell into her hands and she took a heaving breath once they entered District 5 territory. Estrella's head remained in her hands until the shrill ring of her phone broke her out of her reverie. Scrambling to her feet, she answered the phone: " _hello_?"

" _Hello, Miss Oxley_ ," President Snow's voice came through the phone. " _As you probably know, the Star-Crossed Lovers of District 12 will be competing in this year's Quarter Quell._ "

" _I'm aware_ ," she said. " _I knew that if the girl was going in, the boy was sure to follow. Quite sad isn't it? Unrequited love_."

" _Ah_ ," President Snow chuckled. " _I'm glad we both see through the façade_."

" _I don't know many people who don't_ ," Estrella stated nonchalantly. " _The girl is about as stiff as a Billy Goat. Boy's good, though_."

" _Indeed_ ," he agreed. " _Anyways, to distract attention from the 'Lovers', you and Finnick Odair are to make a few tapes_."

" _Finnick_?" She laughed. " _If the population found out I was with Finnick I'd lose half my cliental_."

" _That is why, during your stay in the Capitol before you enter the arena, you are to take joint clients_." President Snow told her.

" _And if I refuse_?" She asked him.

" _Then your entire family will have an_ ," he paused, " _unfortunate accident. Do you agree_?"

Estrella felt herself begin to shake. " _Okay_."

" _Good_ ," he said. " _May the odds be ever in your favour, I'm counting on you, Miss Oxley_." The line went dead.

* * *

Her prep team surged forwards as soon as she set foot in her room in the Training Center, kissing both of her cheeks. "Stella!" Valentino grinned. Valentino had dyed green skin and silver tattoos that covered one side of his face. "I've missed you!"

"I've missed you too," Cassia beamed. Cassia had bright pink hair cut in a short bob, never a hair out of place.

"Well, I've missed you the most," The final member of her prep team, Emilie, boasted. Emilie had blue hair and skin, she was the leader of the trio.

The comment caused an argument between them about who missed her most while they prepped her. As usual, Valentino did her waxing, Cassia did her hair and Emilie did her nails. The gossiped as they worked, asking for her input occasionally. "So," Cassia asked. "Do you think that Gloss is secretly sleeping with Cashmere?"

She scoffed loudly. "I would bloody well hope not!"

The team giggled as they finished their work. "You look perfect," Valentino said. "If I was into that you'd be straight in my basket."

Estrella laughed loudly at his comment. "I love you, guys," she snorted.

"Ah," Otto smiled when he walked in, the prep team taking this as their que to leave. "You are a vision, as per usual."

"What've you got in mind this year then?"

* * *

When Estrella walked into the room where all the other tributes waited, a silence fell over them. "Jo!" she shouted happily. "You look ridiculous."

Johanna Mason, from District 7, scowled at her best friend. "Shut it, Oxley. You at least look okay, my fool of a stylist thought it was a good idea to dress me up as a tree."

"A sexy tree," she teased.

"Says you," Johanna scoffed. "Seriously, you're from the livestock District so they put you in a leather bikini?"

"If you would call it that," Estrella grumbled. She didn't look bad, if that's what you're thinking. In fact, she looked gorgeous. Her golden hair was left to tumble naturally to her hips in thick ringlets and her makeup was dramatic. She was wearing a brown leather bikini top that only covered what it needed to, a matching waistcoat was fastened under her breasts, pushing them up, and a skirt that barely covered her ass and hung low on her hips. A, once again matching, Cowboy hat fixed onto her head. "I look stupid."

"You look like a sexy cow," Johanna snorted.

"Moo," she rolled her eyes. A hand rested on her arm, causing her to roll her eyes. "Hello, Finnick."

"I need to talk to you," he muttered quietly into her ear.

She span around, wrapping her arms around him so it looked like she was hugging him. "About Snow's proposition?"

"Yes," he said. "Meet me on District 4's floor."

"Okay," Estrella whispered, pulling away and laughing loudly as if he'd said something funny. None of the other victors, apart from Katniss and Peeta, batted an eyelash – Finnick Odair and Estrella Oxley being friends was nothing new to them, it was a given that they would be allies in the arena.

"I'm gonna go talk to the Girl on Fire," Finnick told her. "You take Peeta?"

"Nah," she said "I'm talking to Mags." And sauntered off towards her. "Mags," she smiled softly, taking the older woman's hands in hers. "You look lovely." Mags placed a tender hand on her cheek, and gestured to Estrella in a 'so do you' way. "Thank you," she grinned.

Of all the people she knew here, Mags was probably her favourite; she'd had a soft spot for the elderly woman since she had taught her how to tie fishhook after her Games and had respected her far longer – she adored the old woman. "How are the grandkids?" She asked.

A wide smile stretched across Mags' worn face as she pulled out a picture of three young children standing ankle deep in the sea. "Vivien," she pointed to the oldest, a girl who looked to be around ten with fiery red hair. "Cephas," she then pointed to a boy, who was around seven, who also had fiery red hair. Finally, Mags pointed to a little girl with golden hair and a gap-tooth smile, "Adrie," she mumbled.

"They're beautiful," Estrella complimented as the voice that told the tributes to go to their chariots sounded. "I'll see you soon, okay? Do you need any help getting on?" Mags nodded and Estrella promptly lifted the eighty year old onto her chariot, setting her down gently, before setting off towards her own chariot.

"You look divine, Stell," Tom told her.

"Thank you, Tom," she smiled despite herself. "You're looking rather dapper yourself."

"An old man must try," he joked as Estrella lifted him onto the chariot with ease, getting on after. "I'll never know how you manage to do that."

"I grew up on a farm," she told him. "I've spent my entire lift lifting bales of hay and animals – you weigh nothing compared to a cow carcass."

The chariot began to move and Estrella plastered her typical sultry smirk on her face, staring at the screaming Capitol with eyes that screamed 'come and get it'. Roses, telephone numbers and even a few bras were thrown at her.

* * *

"God," Estrella muttered to Johanna as they walked towards the lifts, pulling pieces of perfumed paper from her hair as they did so, and casually strutted into the one with District 12 in it.

"You guys look amazing," Johanna told them.

"Thank you," Katniss said.

Johanna went on another rant about her stylist. "My stylist is such an idiot," she said as she began yanking out her hair pieces. "District 7, lumber, trees. Ugh. I'd love to put my axe in her face." Estrella snorted. Johanna began to take off her jewellery. "So what do you think? Now that the whole world wants to sleep with you?"

"I don't think that the whole world-" Katniss began.

"I wasn't talking to you," Johanna whirled around. Estrella had to bite her lip to stop herself from laughing.

"Okay," Katniss muttered.

"This is my stop," Estrella muttered to Johanna as the elevator came to the fourth floor. "I'll see you later, Jo."

"See you later, Tel." Johanna responded as she slipped through the doors without a sound or a glance at the people from 12.

* * *

Estrella sighed as she knocked on District 4's door. Their escort, Drusilla, opened it. "Estrella, darling!" She squealed, kissing her on both cheeks.

Estrella smirked. "How you doing, baby?"

Drusilla blushed. "I'm great! How are you?"

"I've never been better," she winked. "I need to speak with Finnick. Is he here?"

"Yes, yes," Drusilla rushed out, turning and calling. "Finnick, someone's here to see you."

"Who is it?" He asked, casually strolling towards the door in only a pair of pyjama bottoms. "Ah, Stella, come in."

Estrella followed him to his room where she jumped onto his bed. "What've you got this week?" She questioned, referring to his clients.

"Three on Monday, two on Tuesday, four on Wednesday, three on Friday," he told her. "What about you?"

"That's not too bad," she responded. "Ugh, I've got four on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, three on Wednesday and one on Saturday."

Finnick winced. "Have fun with that."

"I can't help but get the feeling that they're going to enjoy it more than I will." She laughed mirthlessly. "How's Annie?"

"No better," he sighed. Annie Cresta was a close friend of both of them; Estrella believed that Finnick was in love with her. "What does Snow wants us to do?"

"He's wants us to film a few tapes," she responded. Tapes, as the Capitolites called them, were basically videos that were published by Snow of his prostitutes having sex – it wouldn't be the first for either of them. "Oh, and we've got some joint clients." She added disgustedly.

Finnick's face scrunched up. "Have you had them before?" He asked.

"Yeah," she recalled. "Have you?"

He shook his head. "I've had several at once but I've never done a joint."

"Ah, I did some with Cashmere," Estrella told him. "When we do one, it'll probably be a couple that buys us; you'll take the woman, I'll take the man, then you'll take the man and I'll take the woman – or, we take each other and they watch. It's okay, you get to ask for double the secrets."

Finnick nodded. "Okay," he said, well aware that they'd both done and been through worse. "You know about 13, right?"

"Plutarch told me," she bit her lip. "Reckon it'll work?"

"I hope so," he responded.

* * *

 **A/N: I know that some of this may be wrong - please let me know what you think; reviews are greatly appreciated! LittlexMissxVicious X**


	2. Chapter 2 - Catching Fire

" _Stella!" His sister's name was the last word that left the twelve year old's lips as his head flew from his body. He had, quite stupidly, followed her as she sprinted towards the cornucopia - even though she had explicitly instructed him to not follow her and, instead, run away from the cornucopia and hide so she could come and find him later. He placed 24_ _th_ _out of 24._

" _JACKSON!" She screamed from her spot at the cornucopia, pulling a knife from her belt and throwing it at his killer, the boy from District 2. The knife hit its mark. He hit the floor. BOOM!_

 _A battle cry left her lips as she threw knife after knife at the other tributes. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! Eleven tributes hit the ground – a knife in their throat, blood pouring out of the wound like a waterfall; their deaths quick._

 _Estrella reached to her belt, but there was no knife to grab. So, with another scream she pulled the sword, the sword that killed her brother, from the corpse of the Career and swung, over and over. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! A further nine fell, blood pouring out of the red smiles carved by her sword; their deaths quick._

 _She was so caught up in the destruction that she didn't see the axe until it was lodged in her side. A scream ripped from her lips and her sword clattered to the ground. The male tribute from District 7 standing above her ominously, axe raised. He swung. She rolled away, fingers desperately reaching for the spear that was a metre away from her. He pulled his axe from the ground, raising it above his head. Her fingers closed around the sword. She lifted it. Metal clashed with metal. Lumber clashed with Livestock. She overpowered him, her years working on her District's fields making her stronger. They circled each other. "Well aren't you a surprise?" He baited, swinging his axe. Her sword swung too, the force from both sides causing the weapons to fly from their hands._

 _They circled each other for a while, daring the other to make the first move. Her moment of hesitation when answering proved fatal as, the next thing she knew, he had punched her in the face. "Just about," she spat out her tooth, blood pouring out of her mouth. She grunted as she ducked another punch and landed a punch to the side of his face, knocking him to the ground, he kicked out at her legs. Estrella gasped as she hit the ground and held a hand to her mouth, feeling blood seep through her hands._

 _Once they were both on their feet, he spoke again. "The odds have been in your favour so far, you caught everyone off guard – but I see through you, I always did. Got any other skills I should know about? So I have a fair chance." He asked her mockingly._

 _A musical laugh burst from her lips. "I have lots of skills, wanna see?" But didn't give him the chance to respond, leaping through the air towards him with the grace of a gazelle, she found the pressure point on his neck and held down sharply. A girlish scream escaped him as he crumpled into her arms, both falling onto the blood stained ground. "Happy fucking Hunger Games," the fourteen year old girl hissed to him. BOOM!_

 _But, unlike in her Games, the other tributes all got up and began walking towards her, all asking one thing: "Why did you kill me, Stella? I have a family that I loved and wanted to go home to, I have a family that needs me." They formed a circle around her._

" _I don't know," she cried, pushing them out of her way._

" _Telly," her little brother's voice said. "Why didn't you save me? You promised me you would."_

 _The other tributes, who were now dead again, began morphing into her loved ones. Johanna. Haymitch. Finnick. Cashmere. Her mother. Her father. Her sister. Mare and Agri from back home. All of them asking her why she killed them._

* * *

"NO!" Estrella's scream echoed around the room as her eyes snapped open. Covered in sweat and gasping for air, she glanced around the darkened room.

"Stella," Florentina rushed into the room, taking in the ever-beautiful victor's bedraggled appearance, the patches of blood on her arms and neck, the messed up sheets and the tears in her eyes. "Oh, darling." She swept across the room and hugged the woman who, to Florentina, had never seemed more vulnerable.

Something broke in her and she burst into tears. "I saw all of them," she confided. "I saw Jo, Fin, my parents… When you live in the Districts, you spend your entire life terrified because of these stupid Games. As a child you're terrified that it'll be you, or a loved one going into the arena. Then, as an adult, it's your kids and your grandkids. Your entire existence could be changed in a second, your entire existence is dictated by these Games. WE are not responsible for the actions of our ancestors, so why is it us that face the punishment? Twenty-four children go into that arena, and twenty-four children die in that arena; we victors may look alive and well, but we're haunted by what happened in there. I've killed people, Flo. I've killed people with families, just like mine, without a second thought."

"You did what you had to do to survive," Florentina attempted to comfort the seething woman.

"That's what it's about isn't it? Survival." Estrella scoffed and shook her head. Standing up, she told her escort: "I'm going to take a shower."

* * *

Once she was out of the shower and in her training uniform, she headed to the Training Center. The first thing she saw was Johanna practising with her axe and decided to scare the other tributes as well, walking over to a huge clear box she stepped in. A control panel popped up and she set it to throwing knives on the highest setting.

She reached a hand into her belt and her fingers closed around the cool metal, a grin spreading over her face as she moved to the centre of the room. Orange lasers shot out, she glanced from side to side as they moved. An orange flash to her right caused her to spin, throwing a knife at it. It connected, hitting it in the throat and exploded into orange blocks. Another came with a bow and arrow, exploding when her knife it. She twirled as a spear sailed past her, she didn't have to think as her knife flew from her hand. She didn't even glance at the one to her side when she threw her knife at it. One ran across the top tier, she threw, aiming slightly ahead of it, it exploded. One with a mace came swinging at her, exploding when her knife reached it with deadly precision. An axe came flying at her, she decided to show off and did a back somersault to dodge it, throwing a knife milliseconds later. She threw two knives at the same time, hitting the next one in both eyes. Estrella threw her final knife at a jumping one with a trident, blocks exploding all around her. 'They were the other tributes,' she realised.

Clapping broke her out of her daze. She looked and saw it was Wiress, from District 3, enthusiastically applauding her. She mockingly bowed and walked out of the box, not looking at anyone as she went to speak with Enobaria.

* * *

"I'm sorry, Miss Oxley," the trainer at the hand-to-hand combat station said to her, "but I cannot permit you and Miss Golding to fight."

Enobaria bared her razor sharp teeth at the man, who seemed to whimper. "Why not?" Her voice was lethal. "We're both victors, we won't kill each other."

"Till we're in the arena," Estrella remarked, sharing a dark smirk with the Career. Enobaria and Estrella were friends in a warped way; they began speaking because they were sparring partners due to them both being of a similar size and build, and, eventually, began to respect each other. In a way, she could understand why they weren't allowed to fight; they were both tributes in the Quarter Quell and, if it weren't for the multiple full body polishes that they'd both had, they would be covered in scars and cuts from the viciousness of it all. "Don't worry, 'Baria, if I were to have my throat ripped out by your teeth it would be an honour."

"That must be the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me," Enobaria said sarcastically, jokingly wiping her eye. "If I were to have my nervous system shut down by you it would be an honour."

Both women laughed. "Seriously, though. I'm going to kill you," Estrella said.

"Good luck," Enobaria chuckled.

"Luck's for losers," she stopped laughing sharply. "See you around." She called and walked over to the knot tying station, where Finnick had tied a noose around his neck.

"Do you wanna take me for a walk?" He asked Katniss, holding out the end of the rope to her. Katniss looked a mixture between amused and uncomfortable.

"She doesn't, but I do," Estrella said, grabbing the rope. "Sorry about him," she spoke to Katniss apologetically, "some people can't be left alone for longer than five minutes."

"Ouch," Finnick whined. "You're pulling too hard, it's getting tighter."

"Good," she snapped at him when they had reached the elevators. "If we're wanting to make an alliance with her, you can't scare her off! First the sugar cubes and now this? What's next? You professing your undying love for her? Fucking hell, Fin!" He scowled at her. "I'm sorry, rough week."

She released the noose with a sigh. His face instantly went calmer and, noticing the camera in the corner of the elevator, hugged her to him. "Go to Haymitch," he whispered in her ear and got out of the elevator.

* * *

"We need you to get Katniss out of the arena." Haymitch informed her seriously.

"How are you proposing I do that?" Estrella snorted.

"You know more about the inside workings of the Games due to your dalliances with the Gamemakers. Find out what's going on," he told her. "Katniss is the face of the rebellion, we have to get her out."

"Can you guarantee his safety?" she motioned to Finnick.

"No," Haymitch said. "But, I can guarantee that once we have Katniss, we'll try and find him."

"Where are you taking us?" She asked him.

"District 13," he said, throwing a golden bracelet at her. "Show her this and she'll know to trust you."

"District 13 was blown up," she scoffed.

"District 13 is underground and away from Capitol rule." Haymitch snapped. "Do you know anything about the Games that could be useful?"

"Well, one of the Gamemakers, Hadrian Mozingo, I think his name was, told me that the arena would have a force field all around it. He said that the only way to get rid of it would be to add more energy to it or something like that so it exploded."

It wasn't much, to her, but, to Haymitch, the way to escape was just presented to him; they would have to blow up the arena.

* * *

" _Estrella Oxley, District 10._ "

She stood as her name sounded through the speakers. She, coming from one of the last Districts, was one of the only people in the large room aside from Chaff, Seeder, Peeta and Katniss. Nodding briefly at Seeder, she slipped through the doors. Glancing to the Gamemakers, she saw that none of them were paying attention to her – typical for those who came from the last Districts as the Gamemakers will have been gradually drinking and eating themselves into a stupor. "Sorry," she cleared her throat loudly. "I was worried you hadn't heard me come in."

She now had their full attention and knew it. Estrella strutted over to the dummies, picking up the smallest one she could see – it was about the size of a twelve year old – and propped it up so it stood to its full height of around 5'0. She headed to the paints station, grabbing a jar of blood red paint, and then went to the swords, picking up the largest one there. She walked slowly back to the dummy, biding her time, before sharply spinning and decapitating the dummy. Estrella grabbed the paint pot and wrote next to the head. She laughed coldly, looking Plutarch Heavensbee straight in the eyes as she kicked the head of the dummy towards the Gamemakers. It rolled ominously towards them, the words she had written becoming visible:

 _ **Happy Fucking Hunger Games**_

* * *

Estrella's face was blank as Caesar read out her score. 'At least I look good in my poster,' she thought.

"You scored an 11?! Congratulations!" The team of District 10 rushed to congratulate her, squealing happily.

"But the Girl on Fire got a 12," she remarked, standing. "I have a client, I'll be back later. Don't wait up."

* * *

When she knocked on the door of the apartment, the person who opened it wasn't who she thought it would be. It was a peacekeeper, who grabbed her arm and dragged her inside. "President Snow wishes to speak with you." He said monotonously as they reached the door. He pushed it open and another peacekeeper pushed her into a red leather chair.

"Ah, Miss Oxley," President Snow said maliciously. "I'm not going to sugar-coat it for you – we're past that point in our relationship. So, get on your knees; you'll be showing the Districts thanks tonight." He informed her as about fifteen peacekeepers swarmed around her, creating a circle.

"Come on," the first leered at her, unzipping his fly. "It's been years since I've seen a naked woman." They all began to reach for her tearing her dress from her. Estrella knew what was coming and simply turned off, zoning out completely and becoming numb.

It was only when she was lying on the floor, naked, covered in semen and ashamed, did a tear fall. "You now know what happens when you test me, Miss Oxley. I hope that we don't have to do this again. You may leave." And she did, scrambling back to the Tribute Center.

* * *

It was Katniss Everdeen who found her, shaking and staring straight ahead of her. She looked possessed. "Err, Estrella?" She placed a hand on the older victor's shoulder.

Estrella's hand locked around Katniss' wrist in a vice-like grip. "Never let them take you, never let them do to you what they did to me. To Finnick. To Cashmere. Don't let them." She released Katniss like she'd burned her and drew her knees to her chest, rocking backwards and forwards as she muttered to herself.

"What?" Katniss spluttered, terrified but pitying of the broken woman.

She blinked, stopping her shaking and standing up calmly as if she hadn't just had a mental breakdown. "Sorry about that," she said casually. "Sometimes I just snap. It's a bit weird really – has to happen, got to keep the cattle booming – as they say back home. See you around, Girl on Fire."

It was only when she had walked into the light, that Katniss saw the woman's body. She was naked, bruises, cuts and white patches covered her tan body. Her golden hair was mussed up, her mint green eyes not holding any of the life that they usually had, and her legs had blood and marks the shape of hands trailing down them. Katniss nearly vomited. "What happened to you?" She asked.

"Oh, this?" Estrella asked lightly. "I like to call this a Monday."

* * *

"I don't understand why you can't just say no!" Cassia blubbered as she ran her hands through Estrella's thick, blonde hair, beginning to straighten it with a flat iron.

"There's a lot of things you don't understand." Estrella said. "Ignorance is bliss, my darling."

There was a silence as the team did their work. "Ugh," Emilie mumbled. "How many times have I told you to leave your nails alone?"

"More than a million," Estrella snorted. "I need them short so I can use weapons. No weapons equal no Stella. Wouldn't want me dying now, would we?"

"No!" Valentino said fiercely, his green hands took her by the shoulders. "You are going to go out there and ace your interview. Then, you're going to go into the arena, and you're going to come out. Alive. Understand? I'm not losing you, Star."

All nastiness left her as she hugged her prep team, muttering apologies to them. "I understand."

"Good, now let's get you finished and through to Otto." Emilie smiled. "He has a beautiful outfit for you this year!"

* * *

"Now, our next tribute stole our hearts nine years ago when she won her Games at fourteen, after volunteering in an attempt to protect her younger brother." Caesar Flickerman said seriously, the crowd beginning to cheer thunderously for her. "We've watched her go from being the little underdog to the most beautiful woman in all of Panem, and have loved every second of it. The Capitol's Star… ESTRELLA OXLEY!

* * *

 **A/N: I hope you like this chapter - if you did let me know, if you didn't let me know! It's super difficult to add ideas to a story that already has such a rich plot (and so many characters!), but I've tried my best.. LittlexMissxVicious X**


	3. Chapter 3 - Catching Fire

**dleshae: That is the idea – while Annie and Finnick are adorable, I just feel like that his wife/girlfriend should be someone who gets what he's gone through; they can basically pick up each other's pieces. Annie will be in the story though!**

 **Kell-Bells34: Thank you! Xx**

 **Guest #1: Thank you! I did too; she's absolutely gorgeous (with and without makeup, which is very useful). The 'tape' is going to be kind of complicated but they will do something… Yes, in the arena she will be unbelievably vicious – kind of like Johanna. The Finnick-Estrella relationship will take a while to build on, as the story continues, but will definitely be here before Mockingjay. (The Capitol part is answered at the bottom).**

 **Tiny A/N: Okay, thank you so much for reviewing! There are a few things that I need to say: Firstly, Estrella (which means star in Spanish – explaining the Capitol's nickname for her) is portrayed by Rosie Huntington-Whitely. You can pick someone else if you don't like that, though. Secondly, I need some help with coming up with a ship name as it's frustrating to write 'Finnick-Estrella' every time I want to talk about them. Anyways, on with the story…**

* * *

She greeted Caesar with a hug and a kiss on the cheek, "Caesar, my darling, how do you do it?" She asked him, the crowd hanging onto her every word.

"How do I do what?" He questioned eagerly, leaning towards her.

"How do you look younger every time I see you?" Estrella rushed out dramatically. "I'm here, aging away, and you're there, more dashing every time I gaze upon you! It's unfair! I don't see why I'm your favourite victor!"

Caesar jokingly glanced from side to side, lowering his voice. "That was supposed to stay between us!"

"Don't worry, Caesar baby, your secret is safe with our audience," she paused, "and the millions watching at home."

The audience and Caesar roared with laughter, when they had died down, Caesar spoke again. "Enough about me, you, my dear, look ethereal!"

"You're too kind," she smiled endearingly, glancing down at her outfit – which had nothing to do with her District. **(A/N: Her dress is what Rosie wore to the 2015 Atelier Versace show – if that helps!)** "It was all Otto – he's fantastic. I'm not too sure about my hair though." She touched it lightly.

Her straightened hair was pulled into a halo braid. "Nonsense! You look perfect." Caesar argued. "Now, we must address serious things here. You're a gorgeous young woman, there must be a boyfriend, right?" An unwanted blush spread over her cheeks at Caesar's words. "There is, there is! I knew it! Spill." He instructed her.

"Well, there is this one guy," she said, the Capitol exploded. "I'm not saying his name, but, I think I'm in love with him. We've been friends for a long time… He's in love with someone else though." Estrella sighed, knowing the truth in her words. "So, he must know, that, if I die in that arena, everything I did was to keep her safe – and you must too." The Capitol's screams and cries drowned her out.

"Who is this girl?" Caesar asked, but her buzzer went off. They hugged once more. Estrella waved as she walked to the other tributes. She quietly spoke with the victor of the 48th Hunger Games, Luca Bernhardt, about Caesar's hair until Katniss walked out in a wedding dress.

"Wow," muttered Luca.

"Katniss Everdeen! You look fabulous! Doesn't she?" Caesar asked the Capitol, who roared their approval. He laughed for a moment. "Now, Katniss, this is a very big and very emotional night, for all of us, wouldn't you say?"

"Oh, don't go crying on me now, Caesar," she teased him.

"I can't make any promises, you know me," Caesar said.

"You know I wouldn't believe you, even if you did." Katniss laughed

The audience laughed. "I love her! The Girl on Fire's so cheeky!" Caesar cried happily. "But, Katniss, on a more serious note: I think we're all here a little bit, more than a little bit, disappointed that a certain wedding did not take place. Alas, but, am I correct in assuming that this is the gown that you would have worn on that day. Yes or no?"

"Yes, President Snow thought everyone would want to see it." Katniss confirmed, the Capitol 'awwed'.

"Well, President Snow, as usual, was right." Caesar laughed. "Was he not folks? I LOVE it! Don't you love it? It's incredible! Will you please do us the honour? Please, please!"

Katniss stepped forwards and began to twirl. Like in her previous Games, the dress caught fire. But, the difference this time, was that, as she twirled, the dress changed colour from white to a smokey grey and Katniss became submerged in flames. She stopped twirling and lifted her arms. Wings spread out behind her. "A Mockingjay." Katniss told Caesar, who had been trying to guess what her dress was.

"Your stylist has certainly out done himself," Caesar said. "Cinna, take a bow!" Katniss' buzzer went off and Peeta came out. "But, Peeta, the wedding. The marriage. Never to be?"

"Well, actually, we got married, in secret." Peeta said, Estrella could immediately tell he was lying for the sake of the Games because of Katniss' face.

"A secret wedding?" Caesar asked. "Alright, do tell."

"We want our love to be eternal," Peeta informed. "Katniss and I, we've been luckier than most – and I wouldn't have any regrets at all, if it weren't- if it weren't…"

"If it weren't for what?" Caesar questioned.

"If it weren't for the baby," Peeta said, sending the Capitol into uproar.

"STOP THE GAMES!" They began to shout as Peeta ran to stand next to Katniss.

The Capitol's theme began to play, signalling the end of the interviews, but the tributes had one more thing up their sleeves. One by one, they joined hands, raising them into the air – a symbol of unity against the Capitol, a symbol of rebellion. The lights cut, plunging them into darkness.

* * *

Estrella could barely hear herself think over the sobs of her prep team. "Guys, it's okay," she tried to calm them down to no avail. "Right, if you can't control yourselves then get out – I'm going to be fighting for my life in an arena in an hour. I don't need this."

That silenced them immediately, tears still streaked down their faces though. "You have to win, okay?" Cassia said once she'd finished putting Estrella's hair into two tight French braids.

"Okay," she said shakily.

"You're all done," Emilie told her, patting her hand.

"Thank you, for everything." Estrella said sincerely, hugging all of them. "Cass and Em, you're amazing," she kissed their cheeks. "Tino, baby, stay fabulous," she kissed his cheek too. "I love all three of you dearly, don't forget that – okay? Stay safe."

They smiled watery smiles and hugged her tightly. "Stell?" Otto said as he walked into the room. "It's time to go." She took his proffered hand and waved at her prep team, knowing that she probably wouldn't see them ever again. Once they were on the hovercraft, she numbly held out her arm and let the tracker get put in her arm.

"Alright, Stella, I've been given a wetsuit," Otto said, holding it out for her to put on, which she did. "So, I'm going to assume that the arena is wet, possibly humid. Here's the shoes."

"Yeah, definitely water related," she put the shoes on.

Otto placed his hands on her biceps. "Look at me," she did. "You are going to be okay. You're a fighter, Estrella. You can make it."

She took a shaking breath and smiled simply. "I know." He gave her the golden bracelet given to her by Haymitch as the intercom told them that she had to get into the tube. She hugged him, muttering her thanks over and over. Otto nodded at her as she climbed into the tube, the doors sliding shut.

'Let the Games begin,' she thought as she went upwards into the arena.

* * *

The light momentarily blinded her. Once she had her sight back, she looked around the arena. Water. The cornucopia was in the centre, on an island, twelve rafts connecting from it to the shore. A dense jungle surrounded the shore and, from the stinging in her nostrils, she could tell that the water wasn't freshwater. Estrella looked to her side, her pedestal was next to Gloss. Straight ahead of her, she could see her weapon; throwing knives. 'I'll have to get them before Gloss,' she thought, 'and Cashmere.'

"Ladies and Gentlemen," Claudius Templesmith's voice broke out from the speakers on the cornucopia. "Let the 75th Hunger Games begin. May the odds be ever in your favour. 10… 9…"

The countdown began. Estrella's eyes searched desperately for Finnick, realising that they must have put him on the opposite side of the cornucopia, and Tom. Tom's pedestal was about three away from hers, next to Brutus. 'Poor bloke,' she thought as she silently vowed to kill who ever kills Tom. Her eyes found Mags next, the elderly woman sent her a reassuring wink.

"5… 4…" Claudius said, Estrella readied herself to dive into the water. "3… 2… 1…"

She dived into the water, the waves rocking her, her legs powered towards the rafter. She reached it. Estrella pulled herself up and sprinted along the rafter, making it to the cornucopia. She dived for the throwing knives, her fingers snatching them away from anyone else. Running to the other side of the cornucopia, she bumped into Katniss, who was pointing her bow at Finnick.

"Good thing we're allies," he said to Katniss, showing her his golden bracelet.

"Where did you get that?" Katniss asked him

"Where do you think?" Estrella responded, flashing her own.

"Duck!" Both women did without a second thought. Finnick pulled his trident out of the male from District 5. BOOM! His canon went off. "Don't trust 1 and 2," he told Katniss. "I'll take this side. Stella, take the other. You, hold them off." Finnick went to one side of the cornucopia.

"Go find Peeta," Estrella instructed Katniss.

She was midway through throwing her knife, when she saw Tom being decapitated by the female from District 6. "TOM!" She screamed, throwing a knife at her. Estrella dived in, swimming towards him. Once she'd reached him, she realised that he was going to die.

"Stell," he gasped out, placing a bloodied hand on her cheek. "You have to go."

"I can't leave you," she said, tears streaking down her face.

"Estrella," he warned her. "Go. Promise me that you'll win. Promise me."

"I promise," she said, knowing that she wouldn't be able to keep it. He smiled softly at her. BOOM! Tom Bullion went limp in her arms. "You," she spat at the District 9 female. She grabbed her hair and dunked her underwater, kicking her in the face repeatedly. The water around her had gone red. The woman as thrashing wildly but Estrella didn't care, she was past the point of humanity; past the point of reason. BOOM! Her canon went off, Estrella finally relinquished her hold on the woman.

* * *

"ELLA!" Finnick shouted, jumping in and swimming towards her. He grabbed her and pulled her to shore. "What happened?" He asked her, holding her face in his hands.

"Tom," she rasped out.

Finnick got the gist of it and pulled her to him, allowing her to calm down. "Let's go."

The five of them went into the jungle, Mags on Finnick's back. They couldn't have been walking for more than five minutes, but Estrella was already out of breath – it was so humid. Peeta was in front, running as fast as he could, Katniss was right behind him with Finnick and Mags in the middle, Estrella was keeping up the rear with a knife in her hand, prepared for any attacks. They all pushed their bodies to keep going; they had to get as deep in the jungle as possible. The canons that were constantly going off let her know that the Career tribute's had begun killing the weaker ones. "Okay, everybody hold up!" Finnick shouted once they were far enough.

"God, it's hot." Peeta exclaimed, his eyes taking in the dense foliage. Everyone was panting, a layer of sweat coating their bodies.

"We need freshwater," Finnick said, sitting down.

"Thanks for stating the obvious, Fin," Estrella rolled her eyes and collapsed down next to him, dehydration making her snappier than usual.

She brushed some stray hairs out of her eyes as three more canons went off. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! "I guess we're not holding hands anymore," Finnick remarked in an attempt to ease the tension, causing her to snort.

'Leave it to Finnick to piss off our allies,' she thought as she tightened her grip on her knife, poised to attack if she needed to, upon seeing Katniss' facial expression.

"You think this is funny?" Katniss challenged causing Estrella to raise an eyebrow.

"Every time that canon goes off, it's music to my ears. I don't care about any of them." Finnick said, but Estrella knew he was lying – he cares about her to some degree, and Johanna.

"Good to hear," Katniss pulled out her machete.

Estrella stood sharply, staring at the seventeen year old with cold eyes. To her, Katniss was a child who was messing with something that could get her injured. "Put it away, girl." She snapped. "I can protect you, or I can kill you. Both of you before even Finnick can stop me; I won't even have to think about it. Sit down before someone gets hurt. And let me tell you, honey, it won't be me." Katniss, seeing the truth in her words, sat down. Estrella Oxley was a natural killer, and would have no reservations about it. She'd be able to as well, Katniss and Peeta had nowhere near the amount of fighting experience that Estrella had.

She sat back down next to Finnick, who had been watching the exchange amusedly, well aware that if Estrella wanted to, she could kill everyone here. Peeta watched her warily, waiting for her to jump. "Okay, let's keep moving," he said.

"I'll take Mags," Estrella said, lifting the elderly woman onto her back before Finnick could argue with her.

"What happened to play nice?" He asked her jokingly.

"I didn't feel like it." She deadpanned, walking on ahead of him.

"Are you angry at me, Ella?" Finnick rushed to catch up with her, using his nickname for her.

"No, Fin," she said after a moment of silence. "I can never be angry at you for more than five minutes – believe me, I've tried."

He grinned happily and kissed her cheek, both trying to ignore the butterflies that appeared in their stomachs from that simple gesture.

* * *

Peeta had taken the lead and Katniss the rear, leaving Finnick, Estrella and Mags in the middle. Finnick was walking oddly close to her, his hand was constantly brushing against hers – but, she knew he was only doing it because of Snow. The sun was beating down on them, not helping with their thirst, and a layer of sweat covered their bodies; the Capitol would surely enjoy seeing their sex symbols sweaty and panting. Peeta sliced through the vines with a machete, creating a path for them. It was silent until Katniss cried suddenly. "Peeta, no!"

Peeta's body flew at them, she all but threw Mags off of her back and to Finnick – who deftly caught her and set her down, and slammed into her. Estrella's head hit the jungle floor, cutting her cheekbone. She felt Peeta's weight get lifted off of her and clambered to her feet, a groan leaving her lips. She saw Finnick begin to do CPR on Peeta. Katniss, not realising that Finnick was trying to help, attempted to stop him but Estrella quickly stopped her. Lunging for the brunette, she tackled her to the ground. "He's trying to help, you stupid girl. He's trying to save his life. Listen to me! He's not trying to hurt him."

Katniss' grey eyes widened and she nodded, tears streaming down her face. Estrella climbed off of her and pulled the crying girl to her chest as Finnick attempted to save Peeta, Katniss was clinging to her like a child clings to her doll, a wet patch forming on her wetsuit from the younger girl's tears. Just when Estrella had lost hope, Peeta let out a small cough. Katniss released her and jumped for Peeta, kissing him in what had to be the sloppiest kiss that Estrella had ever seen. "You died, your heart stopped." She blubbered.

"Be careful, there's a force field right there." Peeta said causing Estrella to smirk, wincing when her cheek stung.

"You okay?" Finnick asked her, looking at the cut.

"I'm fine," she told him. "How does it look?"

"Just a bit of blood," he swiped it away with the pad of his thumb, staring intensely into her eyes.

She was the one to break eye contact, looking over to Katniss and Peeta. "You know," Estrella muttered quietly, so the cameras couldn't pick it up. "I really didn't believe this whole star-crossed lovers thing, but you can see that she loves him. I don't think she knows it yet, and I don't know in what way, but she loves him, there's no doubt about it."

"He loves her," Finnick said, staring straight at her.

"Yeah, he does," she agreed.

* * *

 **A/N: I hope you like this chapter, everybody. Thank you so much to those who have favourited, followed and reviewed! Two things: 1) I haven't decided whether Estrella will go to the Capitol or District 13, so you'll have to wait and see! 2) If anyone can guess who the girl that Estrella is talking about in the interview with Caesar, I will give them a sneak peek about what happens in the next chapter (leave your answer in my PM or just review.) Let me know what you think by reviewing! LittlexMissxVicious X**


	4. Chapter 4 - Catching Fire

Katniss decided to climb a tree to get a better look at the arena once she'd calmed down. "A force field." She said as her feet hit the floor. "It's a dome, we're at the edge of the arena. We need water." Estrella ran a hand over her face at the thought of water, her bracelet glittering in the sunlight.

"It's going to be dark soon," Finnick said. "We'd be safer with our backs protected. We should set up camp, take turns sleeping. I'll take first watch." He announced, glancing at Mags, who could weave brilliantly.

"Fat chance," Katniss scoffed.

Finnick seemed to have had enough of her, as he stood and slammed the butt of his trident into the ground. "Look, honey, what I did for Peeta back there was called 'saving his life'. If I wanted to kill either of you, I would have done it by now." He pulled his trident out and walked away.

Estrella stood silently, and began to gather vines for Mags to weave. Once she'd gathered enough to make a tent, or at least a blanket, she brought it back and dropped it in front of Mags, who began to quickly weave them together.

"Why don't you three get some rest?" Katniss said once Mags had finished weaving, looking at Peeta. "I'll take first watch."

Estrella shrugged and set up a bed for herself and Finnick, lying down on it when she was done. She felt Mags lay in front of her and got comfortable, letting her eyes slide closed. Finnick, on the other hand, was still not over his little spat with Katniss and didn't trust her in the slightest. But, he knew that they had a common goal, not that he'd admit that to anyone: to get their loved ones out of the arena. If it came down to it, Peeta and Estrella could spin a new star-crossed lovers gimmick and get themselves out of here. "How is he holding up?" Finnick broke the tense silence that had fallen over the camp.

"He's okay… He's just dehydrated like the rest of us." Katniss slowly answered him, not missing the way that Finnick's eyes would flit over to Estrella every few seconds as if he was unconsciously reassuring himself that the sleeping woman was okay. "How did you know you loved Estrella?" She asked him out of the blue, catching him off guard.

A genuine smile lit up his face. "I didn't. It sort of just hit me one day. She baited me, then she got me hook, line and sinker." He used the words that his father spoke when asked about his mother. It went silent again.

* * *

A faint whistling sound caused Estrella to jump up as if she'd been hit. "A sponsor gift," she said happily. "Peeta, you get it. You did die today, after all."

Peeta reached and grabbed the silver tin, opening it and lifting out a metal item that he immediately gave to Katniss. The moon's light was no help to them as they attempted to figure out what it was. "A spiel," Katniss suddenly said.

"A what?" Finnick asked, glancing at Estrella once more, seeing her blush slightly when his gaze lingered longer than necessary. The sound of water flowing stopped their staring contest. "Are you kidding me?"

A gasp of relief slipped past her lips as she saw Katniss duck down and begin to drink the water. Estrella picked up one of the bowls Mags had woven, filling it up with water and taking it to the elderly woman, who mumbled her thanks while gulping down the water. A delighted giggle slipped past her lips as she gulped down the lukewarm water, washing her face and hands. "I'm never going to take water for granted ever again!" She declared when she moved out of the way, allowing Finnick and Peeta their turns.

* * *

Later that night, a loud gong jolted the five of them out of their trance. Estrella shared a bewildered look with Katniss as it continued. They all looked around, ready to attack when the gongs stopped. "I counted twelve," Katniss said.

"Me too," Estrella stated. "What does that mean?"

"Midnight?" Finnick suggested as he slumped down.

"Or the number of Districts." Katniss said as another noise started. It sounded like something was being charged until a lightning bolt hit a tree in the distance, lighting up the entire arena. It continued for some moments, causing Finnick to stiffen slightly.

"If you aren't going to sleep I am," he said with exhaustion clear on his face. "Move over," he said to Estrella, lying down next to her and Mags. Finnick lifted the makeshift blanket and fell onto his stomach, falling asleep immediately.

Victors of the Hunger Games had nightmares, Estrella and Finnick were no exception. Katniss watched, fascinated, as Estrella seemed to have a nightmare, judging by the sounds she was making, and Finnick pulled her closer to him, her whimpers falling silent immediately. Then, when Finnick's face contorted and he quietly began to mutter 'Estrella' in his sleep, she rolled over and rested her head on his chest, his cries falling silent and his face relaxing, both of them falling into a peaceful sleep, every part of their bodies touching.

* * *

"Run! Run! The fog is poison!" Katniss' agonised scream woke up the entire camp, Finnick quickly lifted Mags onto his back, grabbed Estrella's hand and began to run.

"Come on, El, we've got to run." Finnick rushed her, she nodded confusedly and clumsily attached her weapons to her belt. 'Keep her in your line of sight,' he thought to himself. They were all running around awkwardly, desperately trying to avoid the fog. It wasn't until he heard a blood-curdling scream that he noticed she wasn't anywhere near him. His eyes searched for her, he didn't even realise he'd stopped running until he felt a blistering pain erupt on his legs. Finnick's eyes met hers as they struggled to get to their feet, they joined hands once they had and continued running. "Come on, Estrella," he said as they ran from the fog. The fog, at first, was cold, like fog should be, but the red hot pain that came afterwards quickly cancelled it out. Finnick broke into a weak sprint, ignoring the pain of Mags bumping around on his raw flesh.

Ahead of them, Katniss and Peeta lay on the ground. "I can't carry him," Katniss cried as Peeta's head lolled to one side. "Peeta!"

Mags touched Finnick's shoulder lightly and climbed down. "Mags? Mags? " Finnick asked her worriedly. She pressed a kiss to his forehead and a kiss to Estrella's cheek, before walking into the fog. BOOM! "Mags! MAGS!"

"Finnick, Finnick," Katniss cried, placing a hand on his arm. "We have to go."

Estrella, in a moment of recklessness, lifted Peeta onto Finnick's back. "Carry him," she snapped at him. "Katniss get onto my back. Now."

They all clambered to do as she said and began to run, again. They ran for a while before the ground seemed to slip from beneath their feet and the now foursome tumbled downwards. Estrella was so covered in blisters that she couldn't even scream without being in agonising pain; tears streamed down her face as branches, rocks and roots cut her blistered skin. They fell down the hill for some moments, ending up sprawled on the beach, she was the closet to the forest. Estrella's eyes slipped close as she welcomed sleep, her final gesture before slipped into darkness was a reach for Finnick's hand.

* * *

A load, pain-filled, groan slipped past her lips when she felt herself become submerged in water, thrashing and kicking the person who was holding her in. The pain began to decrease until it was a dull ache, and the person, Katniss, allowed her to emerge from the water. "Fin?" Estrella rasped.

"Over there," Katniss pointed to his body. All pain left her as she made her way to Finnick, and began pulling him in the water. He screamed when he first went in, like she did, but she simply pulled his head to her chest and held him there, waiting for the relief to kick in. When it did, Finnick began swimming around, staying underwater for long periods of time. "Is he drowning?" Katniss wondered.

Her question was answered when he rose from the water, a huge grin on his face. "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you," Finnick muttered so only she could hear.

An uncharacteristically gentle smile made its way across her face. "It's all good, Fin. It's all good."

She was quietly conversing with Katniss and Finnick about what they should do for food when her eyes caught something. "Katniss, Finnick, stay very calm and do not react. There is a huge monkey right behind you. It is a muttation. Get Peeta." Estrella said slowly and calmly, not moving and keeping her eyes fixed on the monkey.

Finnick and Katniss both looked at the mutts that had begun to surround them. "Peeta, I need your help with something." Katniss said in a levelled voice.

"Okay, I'm just finishing up drilling a hole, pass me the spiel, will you?" Peeta said.

"I want you to come over here, Peeta. Don't look up." Katniss said calmly. Peeta walked towards them and as soon as he made eye contact with a monkey, all hell broke loose.

Monkeys began flying at them from every angle, falling to the ground with either a knife in its throat, an arrow in its eye, three trident wounds on its chest or a slit throat. One caught Katniss off guard, jumping on her, knocking her to the ground and roaring in her face. The weight quickly came off of her when Finnick stabbed it. Estrella threw knife after knife at the monkeys; her eyes went slightly wide as realised she only had six knives left. She pulled out her sword and began to slice their heads off, the four of them migrating towards the beach. A scream caused all heads to turn to Peeta. One of the morphlings was laying on the ground of the jungle, blood trickling steadily from four puncture wounds on her chest – it became clear that she wasn't going to survive. "Come on then!" Peeta said, but the monkeys turned away and walked back into the jungle.

"Her name's Rhea," Estrella informed Peeta as she began to collect her knives. Peeta lifted her body and took her out to the water, Katniss following behind him. She was midway through cleaning the last one when they returned, Peeta with a red sun drawn on his face. Peeta and Katniss went down to the beach again in an attempt to fish, when Finnick stood in front of her.

"Ella, are you okay? You look a bit off." Finnick said, his face very close to hers.

"Nah, I'm just worried about Johanna." She said, thinking of her best friend. She was torn out of her thoughts when she looked directly into Finnick's eyes and quickly found herself lost in the sea-green orbs. She found herself leaning in, their lips meeting for the first time.

Estrella Oxley wasn't a girl for romance; even as a child she dreamed of herding cattle – not her wedding day. But, even she couldn't help the butterflies that erupted in her belly, the fluttering in her chest, the fireworks that seemed to go off behind her eyes or the sparks that erupted around her. She found herself lost in the kiss until it dawned on her: it was all for show. Estrella pulled away abruptly. "I will _not_ be a toy," she spat at him. "I'm not Annie and I never will be so don't give me false hope."

"What's Annie got to do with it?" Finnick asked her looking totally perplexed.

"Uh, I don't know… Everything!" She said sarcastically. "I mean, it's not like you're in love with her or anything."

"What?!" Finnick spluttered. "I mean, I do love Annie." He watched her face fall. "But, I need you."

"Stop it, Finnick!" Estrella snapped at him, eyes filled with hurt. "You're only saying this, you don't need me. Who would?"

"Me." Finnick said, grabbing her face and roughly slamming his lips onto hers. Estrella, once again found herself melting into his kiss. "I want you, and I need you, okay?"

They kissed repeatedly and enthusiastically. Katniss didn't want to interrupt them, knowing how much it meant to the pair of them, but when she saw Finnick's hand reach for the zipper of her wetsuit she intervened. "Guys!" She separated them, realising how perfect they truly were for each other. "We need food… Peeta tried fishing but it was unsuccessful." She looked at the boy who was trying to fish with his bare hands. "Mind helping?"

Finnick leapt up, grabbing her hands and pulling her with him as he went down to the beach. Finnick had waded out someway away and was totally focused on his fishing when Katniss asked Estrella. "What does it feel like, loving someone who doesn't love you back?"

A tearful sigh left her lips and she looked at the younger victor with eyes that made Katniss want to curl up into a ball and die. "It feels like dying. Everyday. Take the fog, times it by a million, and then put all the pain in your heart. And you know what the worst part is? You would still do anything for them. Even if it means you have to watch them be with other people, just so they're happy. You'll do it."

"I'm so sorry," Katniss muttered, unsure of what to say.

"It's fine." Estrella dismissed.

* * *

The four of them ate in total silence. "Someone's here," Katniss said, readying her bow.

Estrella pushed Finnick behind her, a knife in her hand, the entire group poised to attack. It was Estrella who came out from the plants first, seeing three figures covered in red. "Jo?" She called.

"STELLA!" Johanna Mason shouted, running towards her.

"JO!" She sprinted towards Johanna with her arms out stretched, Finnick right behind her. But stopped, seeing the blood that coated Johanna, Beetee and Wiress. "What happened to you?"

"Well I got them out," a mirthless chuckle left Johanna as Katniss and Peeta approached. "We were all the way deep into the jungle where I _thought_ I was going to be safe. That's when the rain started. I thought it was water, I turned out to be blood." Johanna looked murderous.

"Tick tock," Wiress said, coming from behind Johanna.

"Hot, thick blood." Johanna continued, gently pushing Wiress aside. "It coming down. It was choking us. Ha! We were stumbling around, choking on it, blind." She paused, closing her eyes and inhaling deeply. "That's when Blight hit the force field. He wasn't much, but he was from home."

"Tick tock." Wiress said again and again. Estrella could feel her sanity quickly begin to leave her.

"What's wrong with her?" Katniss asked.

"She's in shock," Beetee spoke for the first time, cleaning his glasses. "Dehydration isn't helping either. Do you have freshwater?"

"We can get some," Estrella said. A slap ringing through the air caused her eyes to snap away from Beetee and towards Katniss and Johanna. She moved towards them and pulled Katniss back as Finnick pulled Johanna.

"I got them out for you!" Johanna screamed angrily, struggling against Finnick's grip. Finnick waded her out into the water and began dunking her as she screamed profanities at Katniss.

Estrella let go of Katniss and the latter went to Wiress and began cleaning her off. She slumped down next to Finnick, who had returned from the water. "You look like you're a million miles away, El." Finnick said, touching her hand.

Estrella pulled her hand away from his grip as if he'd burned her. "Good. Because that's how far away from you I want to be." She snapped, missing his hurt look.

"Why would you want to do that?" Finnick asked her.

"Because you're messing me around and I don't like it." She spat viciously. "I'm sorry to let you know this, but I can't handle this. I might be a stone cold bitch, but I do have feelings. And you're fucking with them. What are you trying to accomplish here, huh? Trying to soothe years of being in love with someone I can't have with a kiss and a fuck? No thanks."

"Ella…" He began, but quickly stopped when she whipped her head towards him.

"Don't call me that." She enunciated every word.

"Estrella, then," Finnick's ever expressive eyes were filled with pain. She didn't give him the chance to speak as she'd already begun to swim towards the cornucopia.

* * *

When she pulled herself up onto the shore, she heard Katniss speaking. "The entire arena seems to be laid out like a clock, with a new threat every hour. But they only stay within their edge." Katniss said as Peeta began drawing a clock. "It starts with the lightning. Then the blood rain, fog. Then the monkeys. That's the first four hours."

"At ten the tsunami hits that one," Estrella pointed to the huge wave that just hit. Peeta added it to the clock.

"Wiress, you're a genius," Finnick praised, sitting down next to Estrella. It was strange, to both of them, that, even though they had argued, they still naturally were drawn to each other, and their eyes would instinctively glance at them to ensure that they were not hurt. They naturally radiated towards each other, 'like a sailor to sea,' Finnick thought.

"So the tail points at twelve," Peeta spoke.

"That's where the lightning hits at noon and midnight," Beetee said, asking where the tree was. Katniss pointed it out for him. "Wire," he said.

"What? Wiress is right there." Katniss told him.

"Wire," he repeated.

"He means this," Johanna lifted a blood coated coil of wire. "Got stabbed for it too."

Katniss gave the wire to Wiress. "Clean this off, will you?" She asked the older woman, who nodded happily and set to do the task, singing an old nursery rhyme.

Suddenly, Wiress stopped singing. All heads snapped towards her and saw Gloss there, with Wiress, a knife in his hand and a red smile carved into her neck. BOOM! Katniss was quick to put an arrow in his chest. BOOM!

Cashmere went next, with Johanna's axe embedded into her chest. BOOM! Estrella felt tears build up in her eyes. Cashmere was her friend. Yes, she was shallow, vain and slightly stupid, but she was her friend nonetheless; they had both been forced into prostitution by Snow, leaving them with an understanding of each other that no one else, aside from Finnick, could grasp. She quickly wiped her eyes and threw a knife at Brutus, catching him on the leg as the cornucopia began to spin. The ground slipped beneath her feet as she desperately sunk a knife into the cornucopia. "Finnick!" Estrella screamed as she felt her grip begin to loosen. "FINNICK!"

"ESTRELLA!" He screamed back when her hand slipped and she went into the current. "ESTRELLA!" Tears were building in his eyes. BOOM! "NO!" He cried, tears were slipping down his face as a pain that felt like a million spears sinking into his flesh over and over again settled into his chest. Sobs ripped from his throat as he realised he'd failed her. He'd failed the girl he loved.

* * *

Coughing and spluttering, Estrella dragged herself to shore. Water was coming out of holes she didn't even know existed. Blood mixed in it. She faintly heard a whistling sound come from beside her as a parachute landed next to her. 'Stay alive, sugar. H' was all the note inside said. In the container there was a new set of throwing knives. "Thank you," she whispered, looking up at the sky and began the trek to the other side of the beach.

She had been walking for ten minutes when she finally reached the other side. Seeing Johanna and Finnick in tears with Beetee, Katniss and Peeta looking incredibly solemn. "So, what've I missed?" Estrella asked when she'd reached them, none of them seeing her.

"Stell?" Johanna stood sharply, looking at her. "No, you died, I heard the canon, we all did."

"Well, uh, it wasn't mine," Estrella shrugged. Next thing she knew, a trident was pointed straight at her.

"What was the first thing you ever said to me?" Finnick asked her, a glare fixed on his tear streaked face. He looked furious.

"I was playing with my hands and you asked me what else my hands could do," Estrella rolled her eyes but a fond smile came over her face. "I put on my sweetest smile and said: strangle you."

Finnick's trident fell from his hands, as Johanna's axe fell from hers. "Ella." He breathed, sweeping her into his arms and hugging her so tightly that she felt like he'd broken her ribs. "I thought you were dead." He muttered over and over.

"JoJo," Estrella said, looking at the woman.

"Don't call me that," she said weakly as they met in a brief hug.

The trio sat, checking Estrella for injuries and talking when a scream cut through the jungle. "PRIM!" Katniss shouted, rushing into the jungle. The group hot on her heels. "PRIM!"

Estrella was right behind Finnick when another scream cut through the jungle, a name falling from her lips as she ran towards the sound. "ACACIA! ACACIA, I'M COMING! ACACIA!"

"Who's Acacia?" Peeta asked, all speeding towards where Katniss and Estrella had ran, but no one answered him.

Another scream ripped through the jungle. "GALE!" Katniss yelled.

Another. "MOM!" Another. "DAD!" Another. "JENNY!" Another. Estrella collapsed where she was, in a bush and out of sight, as she screamed and cried, hitting, what she now realised were, Jabberjays with her bare hands; tearing them to pieces as they flew at her. "FINNICK!" She screamed for him.

Finnick shouted for Annie, for his parents, for his siblings, when he heard their screams. Running for them as fast as he could. "Finnick, it's a Jabberjay. It's not real." Katniss said to him.

"Jabberjays mimic what they hear," Finnick told her, watching as her tearful eyes went wide and she too began screaming for her loved ones. Then a scream that sent his blood running cold ripped through the arena. This scream, though sounded so real, like she was actually there screaming for her. "ESTRELLA!" He ran towards the scream, unable to find her but still hearing the scream that was, in fact, very real.

* * *

She sat there, the screams of her loved ones all around her as she cried. Estrella screamed hoarsely when a hand was rested on her shoulder. "It's over," Peeta coaxed her gently to take her hands from her ears. "It wasn't real. It was a Jabberjay." He lifted her into his arms and carried her to where they had set up a camp for the time being. "I've found her." He announced when they arrived, Finnick immediately stood and pulled her from his arms, hugging her tightly. Looking as if he let go, he thought she'd disappear. "The Capitol wouldn't hurt Prim." Peeta tried to assure Katniss, who, like Estrella, was sat silently, staring straight ahead of her.

"Your fiancé's right," Johanna said, not really looking at them. "The whole country loves Prim, and Jenny, if they tortured her, or did anything to her, forget about the Districts, there'd be riots in the damn Capitol. Hey, how does that sound, Snow? What if- what if we set your backyard on fire?! You know you can't put everybody in here." They all stared at her, bewildered. "What? He can't hurt me. There's no one left I love. I'll get you some water, Stell."

Stella, knowing that Johanna did love her in her own warped way, didn't get annoyed and simply nodded from her place in Finnick's bruising grip. It was silent for a long time between them.

"Stella," Katniss rasped to the woman who was still in Finnick's arms, her voice gone because of her screaming. "Who's Acacia?

* * *

 **A/N: I hope you like this chapter! Well done to those who guessed correctly. Follow, favourite & review! LittlexMissxVicious X**


	5. Chapter 5 - Catching Fire

Estrella sighed as she felt all eyes snap towards her, gazing at her questioningly. "A-Acacia is my daughter," she muttered quietly, feeling Finnick's sharp intake of breath. "S-she lives in District 7, with a family. She just went five, I think; I've only met her twice – the Capitol took her away from me the day she was born." There was a silence. The kind of silence that was so thick, and everyone wanted to break it, but what do you say to a woman who had been through much suffering? What do you say to a childless mother?

"I'm so sorry," Peeta said.

"It's fine," she shrugged. "I can't do anything about it; neither can you. She's happy in 7, I hope. She looks nothing like her father, thankfully."

"Who's the father?" Johanna asked bluntly.

"Augustus Braun," Estrella responded, equally blunt, causing the people that knew him to pull a face.

"Augustus Braun?" Katniss questioned, no idea who he was.

"Victor of the 67th Hunger Games, I believe." Beetee said. "From District 2. The Capitol's golden child. You had a relationship around five or six years ago."

"Yes," Estrella nodded, knowing that the people in the Capitol would probably be freaking out about the love child of the two victors.

"He's an ass," Finnick scowled at the memory of her relationship with him. Another painful stab shot through his chest at the thought of Estrella being with someone else willingly – her being unwilling simply made him want to run the other person through with his trident. Multiple times.

"And you aren't?" Johanna asked him, Estrella's eyes lighting up with laughter that she couldn't vocally force out, causing him to scowl again.

* * *

After everyone had calmed down enough from the Jabberjays, they began to formulate a plan. It seemed like a brilliant plan, they would wrap Beetee's wire around the lightning tree and back down towards the damp beach. Then they would leave the beach, leaving it as open territory for the Careers. With the beach actually being set up as a trap, when the lightning struck the tree, a shock would be sent down to the beach; killing them.

They were taking a quick break when Estrella realised just how close Finnick was standing next to her, she guessed that he didn't want to leave her alone after the Jabberjays, and the cornucopia. She thought back to the way his entire face lit up when she came back, or the way his heart beat erratically in his chest. 'Does he love me?' She thought, knowing that she did the same whenever she was around him. It was Finnick interlinking their fingers and kissing her cheek that brought her from her thoughts.

"You're a million miles away from me again," Finnick said, wanting to add that she'd always been that far out of his reach too.

"You keep on asking about me, I'm not made of glass," she told him. "I want to know how you are."

"I-I'm fine," his sea-green eyes stared at the ground. "I-I just thought I'd lost you. I can't lose you. I need you, Ella. I lo-"

She cut him off, not knowing what he was about to say, by pulling him to her chest and burying her face in his hair. Inhaling slightly, she realised that he always smelt the same way – like the ocean. For some reason, whenever she smelt the sea, she always instantly felt at home. Just like, whenever she's with Finnick, she always feels safe. "You aren't going to lose me. You've got me, okay? I'm here to stay."

The next thing that Finnick did was probably the smartest thing he'd ever done. He gently cupped her face and brought his lips to hers. Once again, she melted into the kiss and wrapped her arms around his neck while one of his arms slipped around her waist, holding her close to him, and the other found itself in her hair. When they parted for air, his forehead resting on hers, he spoke again. "I'm in love with you. Not Annie. Not some woman from the Capitol. You. And I'm so sorry it took me being forced to come back into the arena for me to realise that."

Estrella had just opened her mouth to respond when Johanna called her over. She disentangled herself from Finnick, muttering an apology to him as she headed down to the beach. "What do you need me to do?" She asked Johanna when she arrived.

"I need some help fishing. Katniss is trying to teach Peeta how to swim. Beetee's being Beetee. So, mind helping?" Johanna said as Finnick came up behind her.

"Sure," she replied, pulling off her shoes.

"I'm going to help Katniss teach Peeta, she looks like she needs it. I'll grab a few fish though." Finnick spoke as he went towards the water, where Katniss was failing at teaching Peeta to swim.

The two women headed towards the water, going in knee deep. "So," Johanna spoke as Estrella caught fish with Finnick's trident. "What's the deal between you two?"

Estrella emptied the fish into a net that Johanna was holding. "I don't know," she sighed. "He told me he loved me, but I just feel like there's something else to it, you know? I feel like he's lying to me."

"There's nothing else to it," Johanna scoffed. "Fish boy has been in love with you for years."

"What about Annie?" She questioned.

"What about Augustus?" Johanna flipped the question on her.

"Touché." Estrella conceded.

"Acacia is okay," Johanna said randomly, causing Estrella's eyes to snap towards her. "I see her around the District with Nan and Bill Birch, they take good care of her."

"What does she look like?" Estrella asked quietly.

"Like you and Augustus." Johanna deadpanned.

"Thanks for that, Jo. I would have never expected my daughter to look like her parents." She rolled her eyes.

"She's very pretty," Johanna eventually said. "She has your eyes, hair and mouth but Augustus' nose."

"Thank you." Estrella said, imagining what her little girl looked like. Imagining what the little girl who didn't know who she was looked like, acted like. The two women spent the rest of the time fishing in silence. Once they had gathered enough fish to feed an entire District, they made their way back to the shore.

"Finnick," Johanna spat gruffly once they were back on the beach, looking at the victor from District 4, who had his hands behind his back and was looking at Estrella with a big grin on his face. "Where are your fish?"

"El?" Finnick ignored Johanna's death glare. "Walk with me?"

"Okay," she shrugged, walking towards him.

Once they had walked about forty yards away from the other victors, Finnick spoke again. "I was going to go fish but then I saw these," he held out a messy bouquet of yellow and red tulips.

She held them to her chest. "You do realise that in my District, the colour of the flowers tells a person a message."

"Do you like my message?" Finnick asked. For the first time since she'd known him, Finnick Odair was, not only blushing, but looking at her shyly.

"Yes," she smiled. "I like it a lot."

"I love you," Finnick said again. "I love you, and, if we make it out of this arena, I promise that I'll show you. I promise that I'll love you in the way I should of before. And I'm sorry that it took the possibility of losing you for me to realise it. You and me, we're end game, okay? You can do your thing, and I'll do my thing, but, when it comes down to it, I don't care who or what you're shacked up with, you're mine and I am yours. Till the end of time."

"An-Annie?" She muttered weakly, tears building in her eyes.

"I don't know and I don't care. Well, I do care, but that's not my priority right now. We aren't in love, we never were, I don't think. There's an old saying in our District that 'if you fall in love with two people, always pick the second because if you loved the first enough, then you wouldn't have fallen for the first'."

'Why does Finnick's District get all the cool sayings?' She thought as she tried to formulate a response. "I-I just need to think. I'm so confused about everything right now." Finnick's face fell, so she leaned up and kissed his cheek, lingering slightly as she whispered: "Thanks for the flowers."

* * *

The alliance started to make their way to the lightning tree; Finnick and Estrella, shockingly, weren't near to each other, but were glancing at each other every few seconds. Johanna, Beetee, Peeta, Katniss and Estrella were talking quietly, Finnick remaining silent. "How did you know where the pressure points on a human's neck are?" Beetee asked. "We learn it in school, but District 10 is livestock – I wouldn't expect someone from there to know that."

"Oh, yeah. As kids, we work on our parent's farms. I was no exception, I used to help my dad with his cows, pigs, sheep and the like." Estrella recalled fondly. "We would raise them up and when they turned seven or eight, we would sell them off for slaughter. Good work, got us by. Anyway, sometimes, when the animals were in heat, they would get a little rowdy, so you had to stop them before they killed themselves, another animal, or worse, a human. You get taught when you're about five how to do it. On the neck, there is a bunch of spots in the nervous system that, if held down, can totally immobilise an animal. Taken down bulls four times the size of me with that. On a human though, it kills you."

"What was it like?" Peeta asked. "In District 10."

"Well, it's probably the hardest working District." Estrella said, thinking back to her childhood. "You're up an hour before the crack of dawn, setting up for the animals. You've got to clean all the acres. Watering the fields so the grass is lush, cleaning up and storing the manure. Usually, we made Billy, my cousin, clean out the manure. The manure gets sent to 9 and 11 for fertilising their fields for farming. When you've finished watering, you have to fill up the troths for the animals. The chicken's get corn, the pigs get leftovers, the goats, sheep, horses and cows get grass. On a Spring day, you'll have to help an animal give birth – losing an animal when they're in labour is a financial disaster. When the dark starts to come, you herd the animals back to their shelters and clean the fields again for the next day. You don't go home until ten in the summer and eight in the winter."

"How old were you when you started working in the fields?" Katniss questioned. She, like most people, was interested in what life was like in the other Districts.

"I think I was about two when I started helping my mum feed the chickens. When I had just gone three I started helping with births, cutting open the sacks or cleaning the lambs. I was four or five when I started working the fields, I loved it. But, in District 10, girls have to stop working the fields when they get married and have children. You go back to feeding the animals."

"Did you not get time off?" Peeta asked.

"You get Sunday's off, so you can go to church. It's a very religious District, we're the only District that follows the old religion apart from District 4. That's why our weddings, funerals, baptisms and things like that are so similar. We have a lot less money in District 10, though," Estrella noted. "Life's hard in our District, we don't get to keep a lot of our produce. There's two parts of the District; there's the trading part, that's where the richer people are, and the farms; that's the poor part and where I'm from. At the start of every spring, when the animals are born, both sides of the District come together for the annual dance – that's where most of us meet our futures spouses. Oh, and there's Día de Muertos."

"Día de Muertos?" Katniss furrowed her eyebrows.

"The day of the dead," Estrella said nonchalantly. "Basically, on October 31, All Hallows Eve, the children make a children's altar to invite the angelitos to come back for a visit. November 1 is All Saints Day, and the adult spirits will come to visit. November 2 is All Souls Day, when families go to the cemetery to decorate the graves and tombs of their relatives. The three-day fiesta filled with cempasúchil, the flowers of the dead; muertos; sugar skulls; cardboard skeletons; tissue paper decorations; fruit and nuts; incense, and other traditional foods and decorations. It's an ancient tradition, but it's different to what it was before Panem existed, because we have an extra day - on the fourth day we wear white and have cempasúchil braided into our hair, that night we dance from sunset to sunrise."

"That's stupid." Johanna said bluntly.

"So is cutting down trees despite the fact that they help us breathe." Estrella snapped defensively.

Johanna opened her mouth the respond, but the deceased tributes faces showing up on the sky stopped her. A sad look slipped across Estrella's face when Cashmere's face appeared. Finnick offered her a sad smile, but didn't meet her eyes. They kept moving when it was finished.

* * *

Once they had finally reached the tree, Beetee began inspecting it. "Minimal charring, impressive conductor. Let's get started." He moved towards it, as did the rest of them.

Johanna let out a low whistle when she saw the tree. "Definitely altered," she remarked, Estrella nodding and, with Katniss, beginning to help Johanna wrap the coil round the tree while Finnick and Peeta made sure that there were no Careers in the area.

"Typically, a lightning bolt contains a billion joules of energy. We don't want to be anywhere in the vicinity when it hits." Beetee said.

"Are you sure the wire is going to take that kind of pressure?" Estrella asked him unsurely.

"Yes," Beetee said confidently, "because I invented it."

"Fair dues," she shrugged.

"You three girls go run this coil down the beach," Beetee told the women, holding out the coil to Johanna. "Take this and unspool it carefully and make sure that the entire coil is in the water, you understand? Then head to the tree, we'll meet you there."

Katniss and Peeta immediately began arguing about the arrangement. "Is there a problem here?" Finnick asked.

"That's a wonderful question," Beetee said. "I need Peeta and Finnick here to keep me safe from the Careers."

"I'll watch over him," Finnick interjected to Katniss, who nodded hesitiantly.

"I'll watch over her," Estrella told Peeta, who, trusting her, nodded.

"Okay," Beetee clapped. "Let's get this show on the road, as they say in District 6."

Johanna rolled her eyes and the three women began walking. Estrella stopped though, whirling around to face the men. "Finnick?" His eyes snapped towards her.

"Yeah?" He asked, still not making eye contact with her.

"I love you too." She smirked at him, his eyes met hers as they ran to each other, her legs going around his waist as they hugged. Estrella pressed her lips to his in a short kiss. "I don't know when, I don't know how, but, somewhere along the line, I fell in love with you." They kissed once more, and Estrella reluctantly jumped down, but didn't release him and leaned her forehead on his.

"Promise me that you'll run if anything happens, okay? Promise me." Finnick said desperately. "Promise me, Estrella."

"Only if you promise to do the same." She said quickly, knowing they didn't have much time.

"No," Finnick immediately shook his head.

"Then it's a no from me too." She said seriously. They kissed one last time.

"Stell, we have to go." Johanna told her, causing her lips to break away from his.

"Okay," Estrella whispered softly, pecking his cheek. "I love you."

"I love you too," he muttered as she pulled away completely, jogging to catch up with the other women.

* * *

The three women walked the distance to the beach in silence. Estrella, who was holding the coil, stopped again when she felt the wire stop coming.

"Someone's cut the wire." Katniss said, picking up the wire.

Estrella looked at Johanna, who nodded, and swung, slamming the coil into Katniss' head. Katniss hit the ground and Johanna immediately jumped on her, cutting out her tracker, as the Girl on Fire screamed loudly. Johanna and Estrella ran into the jungle as Katniss lay on the ground, looking dead. "COME AND GET IT!" Johanna screamed, drawing the Careers towards them. "I'll take Brutus, you take Enobaria." Johanna told her as she ran a different way.

"So," Enobaria's voice made her spin around towards her, a knife in her hands. "I guess it will come down to us killing each other."

"I guess it will," Estrella said as she threw a knife at Enobaria, which skimmed the other woman's shoulder. Enobaria swung her sword at Estrella, missing her. Estrella threw knife after knife at Enobaria, all either cutting her or missing completely, eventually running out. Estrella landed a kick to Enobaria's wrist, knocking the sword from her hands. "I guess we're even." She said as she tackled Enobaria.

The two women brawled on the floor for a while – punching, kicking, biting, grabbing and scratching each other. Enobaria's teeth came dangerously close to her throat more times than Estrella would like to admit. Estrella had managed to put Enobaria in a headlock, but Enobaria's teeth sunk into her arm, causing her to scream and release her, Enobaria yanked her by her hair and kneed her in the face. Estrella grunted as her face came into contact with Enobaria's knee, but no blood was drawn. She staggered to her feet and sunk her nail into Enobaria's cheek, causing a large cut to appear when she dragged her hand down, blood pouring out of it. Estrella caught Enobaria's fist, as she went to punch her, and kicked her legs out from underneath her. She jumped onto Enobaria, showering punches on her, just as her hands had found Enobaria's pressure points, Enobaria kicked Estrella from on top of her, both women clambering to their feet and circling each other, they were both equally injured. Estrella had a large bite mark on her arm and her hair had fallen out of its braids, bright red and purple marks littered her face and neck, a cut on her forehead was trickling out blood. Enobaria had a huge gash, which was pouring out blood, on her cheek and her wetsuit was ripped, already purple finger marks were clear on her neck and her eyes were bloodshot. They connected again, Enobaria receiving a roundhouse kick that knocked her to the ground. Estrella's hands had found her neck, ready to finish her off, but a huge explosion stopped her. A scream ripped from her lips as the arena began collapsing in on itself. "FINNICK!"

She jumped from Enobaria and began looking for Finnick, screaming his name. A foot kicking her in the back of the knee sent her toppling over, her leg dead. "Rule number one of combat," Enobaria hissed as she lowered her teeth to her throat. "Never turn your back on your opponent, or death will come knocking on your door."

Enobaria's teeth grazed her throat. "You know what you say to death when he comes?" Estrella asked.

"What?" Enobaria asked, thinking she'd won.

"Not today." She said, her feet securing themselves on Enobaria's stomach and propelling her from on top of her. Estrella immediately dived on top of Enobaria, pinning her down. "Rule number two of combat, never underestimate your opponent."

Estrella's hands found Enobaria's pressure points, blood staining her face, as a hovercraft picked her up, taking her away from Enobaria.

* * *

 **A/N: Okay, I've finished Catching Fire! Mockingjay will, of course, be longer - don't worry. I hope you liked my story so far; I loved getting to give my opinion on what life in District 10 is like (I hope I got what happens on the Day of the Dead correct!). I'm very proud of my subtle Game of Thrones reference though ;) Let me know what you think! Review, follow & favourite... LittlexMissxVicious X **


	6. Author's Note

**Hey guys! This is just a tiny A/N to let you know that I will (hopefully) have my next update out by New Year's Eve... Also, for anyone who thinks that Estrella and Finnick's relationship has moved too fast, there is a reason for it - you'll see in future chapters.**

 **P.S.**

 **I'm thinking about starting a Hobbit story that, if finished, will continue into the LOTR, what do you guys think?**

 **Happy Holidays, LittlexMissxVicious X**


	7. Chapter 7 - Mockingjay Part 1

Estrella grunted as she woke up, the shockingly white room blinding her for a moment. She reached to push her hair from her eyes but found that her wrists were bound in a y-shape. Her legs were too. In her disorientated state she realised that she was locked into a torture cross. Once her eyesight had become less blurry, she began to assess her surroundings; the entire room was totally white. From the walls to the door, even the clothes she'd been put in – it was more like a cotton, crop top and matching underwear – were white. 'White torture.' She realised, taking in the windowless and totally silent cell. 'Sensory deprivation too from the looks of it.'

She was in the Capitol.

A white TV was right in front of her. Even that was white. Estrella could feel herself rapidly beginning to dislike the colour.

* * *

After a while of glaring at the room, screen flickered to life and a video of a little girl playing with a handsome man came onto the screen. "Acacia," her parched throat made it painful to utter the word, and the tug in her heart made it no easier. "Augustus."

The man turned and waved at her through the screen, prompting the little girl to do so too. Causing Estrella to look at her daughter's face for the first time since the girl was a baby. Johanna was spot on in her description of the girl, but no description, from anyone, could have prepared her for how perfect the little girl was. Golden blonde ringlets framed a heart-shaped face, a huge grin was complimented by the deepest dimples Estrella had ever seen, and her wide mint green eyes were alight with happiness and mischief. If it weren't for the girl's slightly aquiline nose, inherited from her father, Estrella would have sworn that she was watching a video of herself. But, that wouldn't explain the man, who she had _definitely_ not known as a five year-old. The Capitol's description of the man being the 'Golden Boy' was perfectly accurate; his golden hair was complimented by golden skin and golden eyes, the only thing that wasn't golden was his pearly teeth. He was beautiful.

The video continued for some time, showing the little girl running around and attempting to catch butterflies, her father following soon after and scooping her up into his arms as she squealed delightedly, peals of laughter falling from their lips. It sent a warm feeling flowing through her veins that was also bittersweet. She and Augustus never got to raise Acacia together; the Capitol made sure of that. Her eyes remained on the screen, unblinkingly, as, if she blinked, she was scared that it would disappear.

Suddenly, the screen switched off. "No," Estrella shrieked, desperately tugging on her restraints. "No! Please, turn it back on! Please!"

She received no response other than the door sliding open and a man, dressed totally in white with no skin exposed, entered the room holding a white plate that had white rice on it and a glass of milk. The man came to a halt in front of her and placed the food down on the floor, and unlocked her restraints.

Estrella scrambled over to the food and devoured it quickly, realising that she hadn't ate since she'd left the arena. Heading over to the _white_ bucket placed in the corner of the room she walked over to it. "Would you mind turning around?" She asked the man, once again receiving no response. Sighing, she squatted over the bucket and went about her business.

When she had finished, he grabbed her. She screamed loudly and fought against him, trashing wildly against his hands. He doubled over as she kneed him in the groin and hissed into his ear. "Turn the fucking video back on."

He didn't respond, again, and shot a hand towards the baton, which was, obviously, white, and slammed it down on the back of her head. Her eyes slid closed and the world went black, all she could remember was the relief she felt when things were no longer white.

* * *

When she woke up, she was tied to the torture cross again. All she could see was white. An irritated scream burst from her lips but fell silent when the TV turned on again, playing the same video. Estrella fell into a trance-like state while watching her daughter play with Augustus – her first love. The video continued showing them laughing and smiling as they frolicked in a meadow, picking daisies as they did.

"Do you wish for that?" A voice sounded, causing her head to snap away from the TV, eyes darting around in search for the voice. "Do you wish for that?"

"Yes, yes, a million times yes." Estrella muttered, barely audible.

"Unfortunate," the voice said patronisingly. "Because it will never happen."

The video suddenly changed and seemed to go dark. A handsome man with bronze hair and sea green eyes appeared on the screen, wielding a trident. "Finnick." Estrella breathed happily. But, that happiness was short lived when Finnick span and sunk his trident into Augustus' chest. "AUGUSTUS! FINNICK, NO! STOP! PLEASE, NO!" Estrella screamed, fighting on her restraints so hard that it split the skin, blood staining the pristine white floors. Finnick grinned manically, mocking her, and span once more, sinking his trident into Acacia's chest and pulling it out, leaving three puncture marks on her chest, as the father and daughter bled to death.

The screams of Augustus and Acacia boomed through the room as she sobbed and screamed also. The feeling in her chest was one of a pain indescribably bad – it felt worse than being stabbed, worse than the fog, worse than any physical pain imaginable. Worse because, unlike the superficial wounds that they gave you, the torture wasn't physical, it was mental.

For months, they continued to torture her in this way; she would either be left alone in a deathly silent _white_ room, unlocked from the cross, or she would be, locked to the cross, and forced to watch as the man she loved killed her loved ones. Both were unbearable. The feeling of loneliness was unbearable. She had torn out clumps of her hair, and, due to the fact that she was only fed _white_ rice, lost at least thirty pounds. At some point, probably week two or three, she had ripped off her clothes and remained naked, unable to look at the colour _white_ without a feeling she could only describe as terror seeped through her veins, let alone have it on her body. Now, the thing with Estrella is, is that she had never experienced terror or loneliness. Of course, she had been terrified in her Games but, at the time, the adrenaline cancelled it out, and, being very popular with people in her own District and the Capitol, there was no shortage of people to keep her company, making both feelings very new to her.

So, sat there, naked, with her hands covering her ears as she muttered incoherently, it became evident to the people, who were watching over the hidden cameras placed strategically around the cell, that Estrella Oxley had officially broken.

"I am going to get him," she babbled to herself, eyes closed and ears covered, as she rocked back and forth. "I'm going to kill him. I'm going to get him so good. That _bastard_ won't know what's got him because he killed my little baba. He did kill my baby. **No he didn't!** " A voice that sounded a lot more like Estrella's said clearly. "Yes he did!" And she began arguing with herself. " **No, he didn't!** Yes, he did!" Eventually, she came to the conclusion that he did, since the 'he did' argument had a better point – she had witnessed him do it – compared to the 'he didn't' argument of love. "Love?" the first voice scoffed. "Love is a fickle thing, one thing can change everything."

* * *

In District 13, Finnick Odair lay on his bunk miserably, staring at a faded picture of Estrella. "Hey." His head snapped towards the voice, hoping that it was her, but was bitterly disappointed when he found that it was only Katniss. "Can I sit?"

"Yeah," he quietly replied, sitting up to make space for her.

"Snow's using Stella to punish you." Katniss said, taking notice of the picture in his hands. The picture wasn't old, she guessed, but had become faded from Finnick running his fingers over her face. "He's taunting us with them. I-I didn't understand until just now watching that stupid cat."

Finnick took a shaky breath. "After your first Games, I thought the whole romance was an act; we all expected you to continue that strategy. But it wasn't until Peeta's heart stopped and he nearly died, that I knew I misjudged you." He laughed mirthlessly. "You love him. I'm not saying in what way, maybe you don't even know yourself, but anyone paying attention can see it."

"How do you live with it?" Katniss asked vulnerably, not looking at him.

"I don't. I don't know if she's alive, what they're doing to her, if she's okay. I drag myself out of nightmares and there's no relief in waking up. But, it's better not to give into it; it takes ten times as long to put yourself back together than it does to fall apart." Finnick replied.

They sat in silence until the TV in the middle of the bunker flickered to life, the seal of Panem signalling that it was a propo from the Capitol. The inhabitants of the dim bunker were slightly blinded by the whiteness of the room, once the seal had disappeared, but all eyes quickly zoned in on the naked woman who was in the corner.

"Ella…" Finnick breathed, rising to his feet and rushing towards the TV, grinning as he realised she was actually alive. But, that grin dropped once he got a good look at her.

Estrella looked terrible. Her once full, golden curls were tangled and limp, hanging around her face, which was hollow – her already prominent cheekbones standing out like the rest of the bones in her body. She was naked, Finnick noticed, but didn't find himself happy about it. She was rocking back and forth as she muttered so quietly that he couldn't hear it, eyes closed and ears covered as if it would protect her from something. Overall, she looked like a far more broken version of Annie.

Finnick began to shout and struggle against the arms that had grabbed him and were trying to force him back to his bunker. He felt a needle slide into his neck and the drowsiness kick in. The last thing he did was mutter the name of his beloved. "Estrella."

* * *

Estrella was sat in the corner of her cell again. They had just finished making her watch the video, leaving her crying, shaking and screaming. Her daughter and her love had been killed by her other love. It was a rather confusing concept. It was so confusing that her insane – yes, she was insane and well aware of it, it was one of the few things that she was aware of – mind could only come up with one solution to it; she had to kill Finnick Odair.

She was in the middle of creating one of her more imaginative plans, that involved a stick of dynamite and his behind, when a man dressed in _white_ walked into the room. Estrella hissed at him in a manner reminiscent of Gollum. "Leave. I don't want you here in my room. Not nasty _white_ men here."

Estrella could feel the man smirking at her. "Do you want me to leave?" He asked, walking towards the open door.

"No!" She grabbed his arm, the sense of loneliness winning for a second. But quickly let go when her hand touched the _white_. "What do you want?"

"I'm here to ask you that same question." He said to her pleasantly, causing her to stare at the intruder curiously. "What would you do, if I told you that I could bring back Augustus to you?"

"You could?" Her eyes took him in childishly. "You truly could? I'll do anything."

"Really?" The man smirked again, and began to think. "I could bring them all back. Your mother. Your father. Your daughter. Your lover… Your brother. Would you like me to bring them all back?"

Estrella was on the knees in an instant, kneeling before him and crying. "Oh, please. Please, can you bring them back?"

The man removed his mask, showing an all- _white_ face. _White_ hair. _White_ eyes. _White_ skin. A loud scream ripped from her throat causing Johanna, who, unbeknownst to Estrella, was next door, to begin screaming too. His _white_ hands grabbed her hair and brought the pathetic woman to his face. "No."

Releasing her and sending her colliding with the floor, he turned around and walked out of the door. The door shut behind him. All Estrella could do was sob as the door slid shut, sending a wave of panic over her. She cried for hours, the feelings of heartbreak, pain, loneliness and terror hitting her like a slap to the face.

* * *

 **A/N: Okayy, I hope you like this chapter. It has taken me a while to write it because it is unbelievably hard to write torture scenes. Especially for a character that you made and have come to care about. The torture method I decided to use on Estrella is white torture - a form of torture that zones in on sensory depravation and isolation - because, if you look on the Wikipedia page about it, it says that the person who is being tortured in this way can be convinced of anything (i.e. the Prime Minister has resigned, your wife is dead, someone you love is in danger, etc) which I think I very fitting. _I'm very sorry if this has offended anybody._ Unfortunately, things like this are happening to people in our world, right now. I hope that puts things into perspective...  Please review, follow & favourite! ****LittlexMissxVicious X**


	8. AN - IMPORTANT!

Hi everyone.

This story is being re-published as 'The Broken, The Beaten and The Damned', so go check it out and let me know what you think!

Thank you for your continued support.

Make sure to review, favourite and follow it!

LittlexMissxVicious X


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